第103章

’Nooneknowsit。Don’tlooktowardsme；looktowardshim。Hewillturnhisfaceinamoment。Nooneknowsit，butIamsurehedid。Youare？’

’I——Ithinkso，’LittleDorritanswered。

’Henrylikeshim，andhewillnotthinkillofhim；heissogenerousandopenhimself。ButyouandIfeelsurethatwethinkofhimashedeserves。HearguedwithHenrythatthedoghadbeenalreadypoisonedwhenhechangedso，andsprangathim。Henrybelievesit，butwedonot。Iseeheislistening，butcan’thear。

Good-bye，mylove!Good-bye!’

Thelastwordswerespokenaloud，asthevigilantBlandoisstopped，turnedhishead，andlookedatthemfromthebottomofthestaircase。Assuredlyhedidlookthen，thoughhelookedhispolitest，asifanyrealphilanthropistcouldhavedesirednobetteremploymentthantolashagreatstonetohisneck，anddrophimintothewaterflowingbeyondthedarkarchedgatewayinwhichhestood。Nosuchbenefactortomankindbeingonthespot，hehandedMrsGowantoherboat，andstoodthereuntilithadshotoutofthenarrowview；whenhehandedhimselfintohisownboatandfollowed。

LittleDorrithadsometimesthought，andnowthoughtagainassheretracedherstepsupthestaircase，thathehadmadehiswaytooeasilyintoherfather’shouse。Butsomanyandsuchvarietiesofpeopledidthesame，throughMrDorrit’sparticipationinhiselderdaughter’ssocietymania，thatitwashardlyanexceptionalcase。

Aperfectfuryformakingacquaintancesonwhomtoimpresstheirrichesandimportance，hadseizedtheHouseofDorrit。

Itappearedonthewhole，toLittleDorritherself，thatthissamesocietyinwhichtheylived，greatlyresembledasuperiorsortofMarshalsea。Numbersofpeopleseemedtocomeabroad，prettymuchaspeoplehadcomeintotheprison；throughdebt，throughidleness，relationship，curiosity，andgeneralunfitnessforgettingonathome。Theywerebroughtintotheseforeigntownsinthecustodyofcouriersandlocalfollowers，justasthedebtorshadbeenbroughtintotheprison。Theyprowledaboutthechurchesandpicture-

galleries，muchintheold，dreary，prison-yardmanner。Theywereusuallygoingawayagainto-morrowornextweek，andrarelyknewtheirownminds，andseldomdidwhattheysaidtheywoulddo，orwentwheretheysaidtheywouldgo：inallthisagain，veryliketheprisondebtors。Theypaidhighforpooraccommodation，anddisparagedaplacewhiletheypretendedtolikeit：whichwasexactlytheMarshalseacustom。Theywereenviedwhentheywentawaybypeopleleftbehind，feigningnottowanttogo：andthatagainwastheMarshalseahabitinvariably。Acertainsetofwordsandphrases，asmuchbelongingtotouristsastheCollegeandtheSnuggerybelongedtothejail，wasalwaysintheirmouths。Theyhadpreciselythesameincapacityforsettlingdowntoanything，astheprisonersusedtohave；theyratherdeterioratedoneanother，astheprisonersusedtodo；andtheyworeuntidydresses，andfellintoaslouchingwayoflife：still，alwayslikethepeopleintheMarshalsea。

Theperiodofthefamily’sstayatVenicecame，initscourse，toanend，andtheymoved，withtheirretinue，toRome。ThrougharepetitionoftheformerItalianscenes，growingmoredirtyandmorehaggardastheywenton，andbringingthematlengthtowheretheveryairwasdiseased，theypassedtotheirdestination。A

fineresidencehadbeentakenforthemontheCorso，andtheretheytookuptheirabode，inacitywhereeverythingseemedtobetryingtostandstillforeverontheruinsofsomethingelse——exceptthewater，which，followingeternallaws，tumbledandrolledfromitsgloriousmultitudeoffountains。

HereitseemedtoLittleDorritthatachangecameovertheMarshalseaspiritoftheirsociety，andthatPrunesandPrismgottheupperhand。EverybodywaswalkingaboutStPeter’sandtheVaticanonsomebodyelse’scorklegs，andstrainingeveryvisibleobjectthroughsomebodyelse’ssieve。Nobodysaidwha